One Direction singer Harry Styles shows support for gay NFL star

One Direction singer Harry Styles has shown his support for out NFL star Michael Sam.

The band were performing in Missouri this week – the player’s home state and the base of his current team, the St Louis Rams.

Styles, 20, stepped out for the show in a Sam’s 96 Rams jersey, to cheers from the crowd.

At one point, he turned his back to the camera and gestured to Sam’s name on the jersey, in a show of solidarity.

After discovering the British singer’s gesture, the defensive player tweeted him to thank him for his support.

@Harry_Styles thank you for your support!!! #RamNation

— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) August 28, 2014

It was revealed last month that Sam’s Rams jersey is currently the sixth most sold across the entire NFL, after just two months as a player.

One Directon singer Liam Payne faced a backlash on Twitter earlier this year, after sending a message of support to the son of homophobic Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson, which praises “the family values you still all behold.”

Robertson has repeatedly made anti-gay comments, questioning why gay men would prefer “a man’s anus” over a vagina, while other members of the family have made appearances at the events of religious anti-gay groups.

In February, Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw revealed that he had been besieged with “homophobic death threats” from One Direction fans, after his producer branded band member Louis Tomlinson ‘annoying’ during a game.

Michael Sam made history when he was drafted by the St Louis Rams in May, a few months after publicly coming out.